Although his Michigan team suffered its first loss of the season, Wolverines coach John Beilein said the experience for his team was "terrific" as a learning tool. / Greg Bartram, USA TODAY Sports

by Mike Lopresti, USA TODAY Sports

by Mike Lopresti, USA TODAY Sports

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Behold the reality of modern college basketball. The last unbeaten team falls, and it's only Jan. 13.

Anyone surprised? No. That would include the coach of the last unbeaten team that fell. The No. 1 ranking is as slippery as soap, the perfect records a creation of cushy non-conference schedules, and losing is inevitable. So, correctly, sayeth John Beilein, who could have been in charge of the top-ranked team in the country had Michigan not been dropped 56-53 at Ohio State on Sunday.

If the 1976 Indiana Hoosiers - college men's basketball's last perfect champions - are anything like the 1972 Miami Dolphins, toasting themselves anew each season when the final unbeaten falls, who has the glasses?

Thirty-seven years now, and counting.

To review the bloody weekend at the top, Duke lost for the first time Saturday. That left Michigan at 16-0. Except now, it's 16-1.

And so, as is normal, what we know for sure right now is nothing. Whoever ends up as champion in April will have had to grow from defeat, as well as victory.

``At this time of the year, most teams now are seeing their first top level teams on the road,'' Beilein said Sunday. ``Just watch your scores and a lot of the questions you have will be answered.

``It's a journey. You have to embrace an important part of it today.''

Apparently, he means it. Michigan took the floor with a chance to become No. 1, and fell behind 21 points in the first 13 minutes. The Wolverines rallied to tie but gave way at the end.

The word Beilein had after all that?

``This,'' he said, ``is terrific.''

Terrific? He meant the experience for a young team that was blown away early and came back late, playing five freshmen and being led in scoring by a sophomore, Trey Burke.

``Every coach will tell you that. When's the last team that didn't lose? It happens. The teams that prosper are the teams that get better from it.''

Nobody gets away clean very long in college basketball. Not anymore. Too many good teams out to get you.

``I lived it a couple of years ago, when we got to 24-0,'' Ohio State coach Thad Matta said of the trials of trying to stay unbeaten. ``It's mind boggling when you think about it. You're the last unbeaten team in the country when the game starts, and you think, `Man, I've never seen this (opponent) play like this.' And the environments you go into.''

Sunday, that was Michigan wandering into the Ohio State's hot house. And while Beilein speaks of the valuable lessons learned, this still had to sting a little bit for two reasons.

One, it has been 19 years since Michigan was ranked No. 1. Not every day a team gets the chance to do something for the first time in a generation.

``To me the rankings are irrelevant,'' he said. ``We're all about what's the end of the story. What are you like in March?''

``It hurts a little bit,'' forward Jordan Morgan said. ``But we'd rather be No. 1 in March than in January.''

Matter of fact, Beilein thought the whole No. 1 scenario might have had the Wolverines too amped up Sunday, especially on defense, when they eagerly attacked the perimeter early and watched the Buckeyes blow right past them with dribble penetration. They looked up, and it was 29-8.

``We came out with everything we had,'' Beilein said. ``Sometimes, that's not always the best.''

And, two ... well, let me borrow the phrase the Ohio State fans were shouting at the end of the game.

Just like football.

Losing to the Buckeyes in bridge would have to leave a sour taste for a Michigan team. Let alone the fact Ohio State has beaten Michigan nine straight times here, and Matta is 17-3 against the Wolverines.

So Louisville will likely be No. 1, something the Cardinals have done but one week in their entire storied history. Odds are, it won't last long. Losing is part of winning in college basketball. Everyone has to do it.